High school volleyball: Marian Central edges Lakes in 3

WOODSTOCK – The excitement and noise from Lakes’ bench at Landers Pavilion reached a new high after McKenna Lahr's block on Marian Central’s Lauren Hanlon extended Monday's nonconference volleyball match to a decisive third set.

On the Hurricanes’ side, players and coaches reminded themselves of what was at stake.

“We told each other before the third game that we really need to work with unity and pull our energy together,” said senior Brenna Koch, who had two kills and an ace in the third set. “That’s how we were going to get it done.”

Marian fell behind, 12-9, in the third set, but a dominant service game and better play at the net carried the Hurricanes to a 25-17, 21-25, 25-20 victory – their 12th straight win to start the year and 20th overall dating back to last season.

“When things get tough, we can’t freak out and fall apart,” said Koch, whose Hurricanes went on a 9-4 run out of a timeout in the third set to take the lead for good. “That’s what we needed to focus the most on, working together and being a team.”

Marian freshman middle blocker Gabrielle Davis, the only underclassmen on a team with 10 seniors, provided the match-winning block on 6-foot-2 Katie Billetdeaux, the Eagles’ leading attacker with 10 kills, including six in the second set.

“We really just got our game together and realized the urgency,” Davis said. “People started putting balls away, our defense started picking balls up, the blocks actually happened, and I don't think we missed a serve the entire (third set)."

Senior outside hitter Sydney Nemtuda led the Hurricanes with 14 kills, setter McKayla Wuensch passed out 24 assists and added five kills and three aces, Lauren Hanlon recorded six kills and three aces, Meghan Schwallie had 17 digs and three aces, and Davis and Rachel Noonan had two blocks each.

Marian (12-0) looked on its way to a relatively easy sweep over Lakes (9-3) with a 14-8 lead in the second set, but the Eagles chipped away as the Hurricanes struggled to run their normally up-tempo offense.

“We got really slow and sloppy,” Marian coach Laura Watling said. “And when you go up against a team that really is fighting for the win, and they have good hitters ... you can’t afford to get into those ruts because that team will take advantage of that, and they completely did."

The Eagles are the fourth team to push Marian, the defending Class 3A state champions, to three sets. Marian plays at Carmel Tuesday in an East Suburban Catholic Conference match.

“They came in here knowing who Marian Central is,” Lakes coach Katie Cheek said. “They were kind of expecting to be the underdog … and I kept telling them, any team can have a down night. You can get in any team’s head. I think the difference in the second and the third was that (Marian) just got more runs than us. They have phenomenal hitters, they’re fun to watch.”

UNSUNG HERO

Gabrielle Davis, Marian Central, fr., MB

Davis is the only underclassman of 14 players on the Hurricanes and played an important role at the net, providing the match-winning block in Marian's three-set victory over Lakes.

THE NUMBER 20:

Consecutive wins for Marian Central dating back to last season

AND ANOTHER THING…

Marian Central’s Sydney Nemtuda finished with a team-high 14 kills. One of them early in the first set skipped into the bleachers and knocked the popcorn out of a Lakes player’s hands. Her pizza was saved.